Bill Woodruff asked: Has anyone heard/dealt with Scarborough-Faire.....?
Robb Pryor replied: supply was sometimes a problem.
Rod Barman added: They won't pay shipping when they have made an error and are
generally confrontational on the phone.
I agree with these comments and can add my experiences.
!. The MGA catalog page listing electrical parts (coils, points, regulators)
has the word LUCAS in large letters but the parts you receive will probably not
be Lucas parts. People restoring cars usually WANT Lucas parts.
2. They once charged me 5% for paying with my VISA card. VISA has since told
me that is in violation of their contract and S-F could lose their VISA
contract for it.
3. S-F has a NO REFUND policy. Instead, they give an in-house credit (must be
applied to a subsequent order with them). These credits tend to get all messed
up and after several phone calls (during which they agreed with my calculations
- but never got it straight on paper) I eventually gave up trying to straighten
it out. They still owe me but I'll never collect because I'll never do another
10" worth of business with them. I'm no longer angry, just wiser and anxious
to share the facts.
At the North American MGA Register meet last July, a fellow MGA owner told of
placing a large (around $3,000) order with S-F; he received about $2K in parts
and a $1K store credit. He requested his money back, to no avail. At the meet
he brought along several hundred copies of a notice of his experience with S-F
and confronted Cecelia (owner) with his intention to pass the notices out to
everyone in attendence. She wrote him a check on the spot!
Finally, Scarborough-Faire once had the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust
approval for part quality and service. This distinction was rescinded a few
years back. S-F had to print new catalogs without the BMIHT logo. Check your
Moss, TRF and Vic-Brit catalogs; they are all approved and display the logo.
I attend quite a few Brit car events and have heard the same compliants where
ever I go. If you have a choice of where to buy your parts, use the other
suppliers and avoid Scarborough-Faire!
Cheers!
George
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